OCFS
press@ocfs.ny.gov
August 02, 2019

THE NEW YORK STATE COUNCIL ON CHILDREN AND FAMILIES ANNOUNCES $134,475 IN GRANTS AWARDED FOR REGIONAL COLLABORATION ON CHILD CARE

THE NEW YORK STATE COUNCIL ON CHILDREN AND FAMILIES ANNOUNCES $134,475 IN GRANTS AWARDED FOR REGIONAL COLLABORATION ON CHILD CARE 

Grants Aim for Partnership Between Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies and Regional Economic Development Councils 

The New York State Council on Children and Families (CCF) today announced that its New York State Birth Through Five Project (NYSB5) will award grants of up to $15,000 to Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies that partner with their Regional Economic Development Councils (REDC) to identify challenges and collaboratively assess their region’s child care needs. The initiative recognizes child care as an economic development issue that child care providers and the business community must work together to address. 

The funding is made available under an $8.7 million Preschool Development Birth Through Five grant awarded to CCF by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Administration of Children and Families. The one-year grant supports an assessment of the needs of the early childhood system in New York State. It seeks to strengthen partnerships, increase parent choice and improve access to quality early care and learning environments. 

Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul made the announcement this morning at Edu Kids Buffalo Promise Neighborhood Child Care Center. 

Governor Cuomo tasked the REDCs to include child care as a priority in their 2019 Strategic Plans. Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul, who chairs the REDCs, directed them to address child care and community needs in their plans for economic development and growth in a May letter. Lieutenant Governor Hochul is also co-chair of Governor Cuomo’s Child Care Availability Task Force. 

“I know how important it is to have access to child care to help balance responsibilities at work and at home,” said Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul, Co-Chair of the Child Care Availability Task Force. “We want to ensure that working families are provided with the resources they need for safe, accessible, and affordable child care. This grant funding will help the statewide Regional Economic Development Councils meet our directive to address child care needs, promote investments, and provide high-quality child care across the state.” 

“I believe that the collaboration between the Regional Economic Development Council and Child Care Resource and Referral agencies across the state will yield innovative solutions to meet the needs of working families across our state,” said New York State Assembly Majority Leader Crystal Peoples-Stokes. “Child care must be addressed through an economic development lens so that parents can go to work and know that their children are well cared for.”

This grant also complements the work being done by Governor Cuomo’s Early Childhood Advisory Council, whose goals include making more quality care available to families and working with families to assess and meet their early child care and education needs. 

Council on Children and Families Executive Director Renée Rider said, “This grant provides an opportunity for child care providers and the business community to come together and assess what their region’s child care needs are, to identify the barriers families face in making decisions around early care and education and to identify the supports they need to make quality early care and education accessible to all children in their region from birth to age 5.” 

Early Care and Learning Council Executive Director Meredith Chimento said, “The Early Care & Learning Council and its network of 35 Child Care Resource and Referral agencies (CCR&Rs) are eager to partner with and be an integral component of the REDCs’ commitment to increasing the availability of and access to quality child care for New York State families. CCR&Rs are positioned to collaborate with businesses in all 62 counties of New York State, which will strengthen the workforce, reduce employee absenteeism and strengthen the economic prosperity of New York’s communities.” 

Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies help parents find child care that meets their specific needs, provide technical assistance and training to individuals who want to become child care providers and support those who already provide care. Governor Andrew M. Cuomo established ten New York State Regional Economic Development Councils to develop long-term strategic plans for economic growth for their regions. By working together, the agencies and councils can take a close look at what their regions need so strategies can be developed to make quality child care more accessible to working parents in their regions.


Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies Receiving NYSB5 Grant Awards

Agency

Region

Award Amount

Capital District Child Care Coordinating Council

Capital District

$15,000

 

Child Care Council of Suffolk

Long Island

$14,570

Child Care Coordinating Council of the North Country

North Country

$15,000

 

Child Development Council of Central New York

Southern Tier

$15,000

Child Development Council of Westchester

Mid-Hudson

$14,905

Cornell Cooperative Extension of Oneida County

Mohawk Valley

$15,000

Child Care Council of Rochester

Finger Lakes

$15,000

 

Child Care Resource Network of Buffalo

Western New York

$15,000

Child Care Solutions of Syracuse

Central New York

$15,000

Total Grants Awarded

 

$134,475


 
###
This is a message from NYS
Copyright © 2024 New York State. All rights reserved. | Our Privacy Policy